Losing Pain

Chapter Six

Malfoy and Harry kept laying for another hour. Both had forgotten that Hermione was looking for Harry. When they realized how late it was, both hurried back to their appointed places. Neither was prepared for the people they'd face there.

***

"Malfoy, where have you been? You've been gone all night." Blaise Zabini asked once Malfoy entered his room he shared with the other teen. The two were lucky to have the room to themselves.

"I went to get some food." Malfoy replied as he took off his robe.

"For two hours?" Blaise asked, not buying it.

Malfoy shrugged. Harry was definately rubbing off on him.

"So, while you were eating, you just happened to get a bunch of blood all over your face and neck?"

Malfoy looked at his friends confused, then quickly went to the mirror they had in the room. Malfoy's eyes turned wide when he saw that his whole face was splattered with blood and his neck was covered even more. Not a moment later, he made it all disappear with a flick of his wand.

"So what's the blood from?" Blaise asked.

"I knocked out a prefect that had seen me. I think they were from Hufflepuff. Nothing to worry about." Malfoy said as he changed then got into his own bed.

Blaise nodded, but Malfoy could tell the Slytherin didn't believe him one bit. He knew all too well that Malfoy would never get himself dirty unless under very little circumstances. Simply punching someone was far from any of them. But, Blaise knew when to let it go, so he did and both of them went to sleep.

***

Harry cleaned himself up on the way back to the Gryffindor common room. He made all of his cuts and every drop of blood disappear. He also tried his best to fix his hair and make the bruises Malfoy had left less visable. He would have just used a spell to make the bruises go away, but for some reason he couldn't make himself do it.

"Harry! Where have you been!" Hermione exclaimed the moment Harry walked behind the portrait. He shrugged and passed the girl, heading in the direction of his room.

"Harry, it's past three-o-clock. What did you possible have to do that lasted so long?" Hermione put her hands on her hips. Harry supposed she thought it made her seem more in charge, but Harry thought it actually made her seem childish.

"I told you, Hermione. I was studying. Being gone for so long has made me fall behind. Why do you think Dumbledore made me drop my Herbology class?" Harry replied without stopping.

"You and I both know that you were caught up to where we are before we even started school, Harry." Hermione whispered loudly.

"It took me till Christmas actually." Harry corrected her. He didn't care if she knew he had lied because he was never going to tell her the truth.

"Then why were you gone?" Hermione asked again.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Harry told her as he opened his room's door and shut it in her face.

***

The next day Harry felt extremely happy. The last time he had felt this way was when he had received his acception letter to Hogwarts. For too long he had been deprived of the feeling.

For a first in months, Harry woke up, got ready, and left to the Great Hall for breakfast before Hermione or Ron could bug him. Only a handful of others were down there with him, including Malfoy. Harry smiled to him as he sat down where the blonde was in his range of vision. Malfoy returned the smile.

The Great Hall was extremely quiet until ten minutes later when the big rush of students came in to eat. Hermione and Ron came and sat next to Harry, but he was already finishing up his plate.

"Harry, we were wondering where you were." Hermione said as she sat down and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

"I was here, eating, Hermione. Stop trying to know my every whereabout. It's not your problem." Harry stood up and left the girl speechless. Right before he got to the door though, she somehow got the courage to stand and yell to him.

"It is our problem, Harry. You just won't let us help you!"

Harry stopped, frowned, then turned around to face the girl. "I don't let you help me because it's not your problem. It's not your problem because you don't care. You two have never cared." He said it so coldly that everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the boy they thought was full of light. Never had they thought such a person could be so mean.

Hermione stood there embarassed. Harry smirked and left the Hall, walking towards the bathroom. No one noticed Malfoy quietly walk out after him.

***

Malfoy found Harry leaning against a wall, looking out of the single window in the room. The view wasn't that special, just the Forbidden Forest. Malfoy looked out at it to see what exactly got the boy's attention but found nothing.

"Potter, what's wrong?" Malfoy finally asked, placing a hand on the shoulder of the raven haired teen. Harry switched his gaze to the blonde. His green eyes that were so alive the night before, were now dull and void.

"I just need them to leave me alone, but Hermione won't let go. She thinks that they're my only way of being 'saved.' Why won't they listen to me?" Harry seemed so desperately lost at the question. Malfoy grabbed Harry's other shoulder. He forced the boy to face him completely.

"Potter, they care for you. Maybe you don't want them to, but you can't just push them away hoping they'll stop. That's what friends do."

Harry laughed and shrugged off Malfoy's hands before he walked to a sink, gripped the sides, and looked at Malfoy through the mirror above it. "You think they care?" He laughed again then looked down. "The first time I ever came to Hogwarts, I met the Weasley's at the barrier. They seemed so nice, so caring, but the whole picture shattered the moment I overheard Mrs. Weasley whisper to Ron. 'That's Harry Potter, Ronald. Become his friend. He'll make the Weasley name known.' I let the redhead follow me and share a compartment with me on the train. He asked me my name and I told him. His eyes got all big and shiny like a little kid just got a new toy. He thought he had found the answer to fame."

Malfoy was shocked. He never knew the Weasley's were so deceitful. They seemed like such a pathetic family that stood by the rules of honesty and family. Harry quickly spun around, gripped the sink again, but looked at Malfoy with dark eyes.

"Then, Hermione just had to come along looking for Neville's stupid frog. She seemed like such a nice little girl, all sweet and innocent. She seemed to not care who I was, just smiled to me as she told me she read about me in a book or two. When she left the compartment though I was able to catch her smile turn into a smirk. The girl already knew that I would get her places. Lucky me, I made two friends already. Too bad they were friends of my fame."

"Are you sure of all this, Potter?" Malfoy asked. Everything he said could be things he made up as the years went on.

"Time after time I would catch them talking about some interview or something else that had the possibility of them becoming something more. The moment they saw me, they'd immediately stop talking. When I heard about the possibility of an interview, they'd say small things that hinted I should do one. Then when I did finally agree to one, they told me to remember to tell the interviewer things, things that involved mostly them."

"I thought they always told you don't do it."

Harry laughed again. "That's what it sounds like, but if you listen closely you can hear the want. 'Oh Harry, they're most likely going to write more lies than truths. Maybe you shouldn't do it. But, if you don't, they'll think your stuck up. Oh Harry, it's your choice if you want them to know about the things we've done.' We've, that was always in one of their talks. It was never what I did. It was always we."

"Potter...I didn't realize." Malfoy felt extremely bad. The boy really was left alone. But now he wasn't going to be.

Harry waved his hand, telling him that it didn't matter. "I'm used to it, Malfoy. I've lived with it ever since I found out who I was."

Malfoy hugged Harry tightly. He couldn't let the boy feel like he was just someone to be used, someone who would never have a true friend. Malfoy also knew from experience. The Malfoy's were always trying to be used, but usually the people who tried ended up dying only days later.

"Harry, I'm not like that. I'm not like that at all." He whispered into the poor boy's ear.

Harry got out of Malfoy's grasp and looked at the blonde strangely.

"What?" Malfoy asked.

"You just called me Harry. You've never called me that."

Malfoy paused then laughed and smiled. "I guess that means you can call me Draco."

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. I know that all of my chapters aren't really that long, but I try to make up for it by posting as much as I can. Once a day is what I'm aiming for, but there will be times where you'll have to wait just a little bit longer. I'm sorry. But thanks to everyone who is reading this!